Andreas Blom

Employability and skill set of newly graduated engineers in India

Skill shortage remains one of the major constraints to continued growth of the Indian economy. This employer survey seeks to address this knowledge-gap by answering three questions: (i) Which skills do employers consider important when hiring new engineering graduates? (ii) How satisfied are employers with the skills of engineering graduates? and (iii) In which important skills are the engineers falling short? The results confirm a widespread dissatisfaction with the current graduates -- 64 percent of employers hiring fresh engineering graduates are only somewhat satisfied with the quality of the new hires or worse. After classifying all skills by factor analysis, the authors find that employers perceive Soft Skills (Core Employability Skills and Communication Skills) to be very important. Skill gaps are particularly severe in the higher-order thinking skills ranked according to Blooms taxonomy. In contrast, communication in English has the smallest skill gap, but remains one of the most demanded skills by the employers. Although employers across India asks for the same set of soft skills, their skill demands differ for Professional Skills across economic sectors, company sizes, and regions. These findings suggest that engineering education institutions should: (i) seek to improve the skill set of graduates; (ii) recognize the importance of Soft Skills, (iii) refocus the assessments, teaching-learning process, and curricula away from lower-order thinking skills, such as remembering and understanding, toward higher-order skills, such as analyzing and solving engineering problems, as well as creativity; and (iv) interact more with employers to understand the particular demand for skills in that region and sector.

Education, earnings, and inequality in Brazil, 1982-98 - implications for education policy

The educational attainment of Brazils labor force, has gradually increased over the past two decades. At the same time, the government has pursued a series of economic structural adjustment policies. The authors investigate how these simultaneous advances have altered the relationship between labor market earnings, and education. They find that the returns to education in the labor market, fundamentally changed between 1982, and 1998. While the returns to tertiary education increased sharply, the returns to primary education dropped by 26 percent, and those to lower secondary, by 35 percent. Moreover, the authors argue, the marginal reduction in wage inequality that occurred in this period was linked primarily to a reduction in the returns to schooling, and only secondarily, to a more equitable distribution of schooling. The findings suggest that the supply of highly skilled labor is inadequate to meet demand. That suggests a need for policy action aimed at increasing access to, and completion of tertiary education. Increasing the supply of highly skilled labor, would improve prospects for both economic growth, and reduce wage inequality.

Trade Liberalization and Labor Market Adjustment in Brazil

We study the impact of the 1988-1994 trade liberalization in Brazil on the wage distribution. We explore three main channels through which trade liberalization could have affected the wage distribution: increasing returns to skilled workers due to Hecksher-Ohlin adjustments to trade policy, trade induced skill-biased technological change, and changes in industry wage premiums. Our results suggest the trade reform in Brazil did partially contribute to the growing skill premium through skill-biased technological change, which was partially instigated by the increased foreign competition. We also find that sector specific returns to skill increased by more in sectors with bigger tariff reductions. However, we find little support for Hecksher-Ohlin type adjustments to trade reform. Overall, the effects of trade reforms on wage inequality seem relatively small.

Accessibility and Affordability of Tertiary Education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru within a Global Context

This paper examines the financing of tertiary education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, comparing the affordability and accessibility of tertiary education with that in high-income countries. To measure affordability, the authors estimate education costs, living costs, grants, and loans. Further, they compute the participation rate, attainment rate, and socio-economic equity index in education and the gender equity index as indicators of accessibility. This is the first study attempting to estimate affordability of tertiary education in Latin America within a global context. The analysis combines information from household surveys, expenditure surveys, and administrative and institutional databases. The findings show that families in Latin America have to pay 60 percent of per-capita income for tertiary education per student per year compared with 19 percent in high-income countries. Living costs are significant, at 29 percent of gross domestic product per capita in Latin America (19 percent in high-income countries). Student assistance through grants and loans plays a marginal role in improving affordability. Moreover, the paper confirms previous findings of low access to tertiary education in the region. One policy implication of the findings is that Latin American governments could take steps to make tertiary education more affordable through student assistance.

Tertiary Education in Colombia: Paving the Way for Reform

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii 1. The Current Status of the Tertiary Education System in Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 The Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Characteristics of the Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 No Improvements in Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Female Students Outnumber Males . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Legal Status of Providing Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Transfer of Credit Between Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 System Governance and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Quality Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Overview of the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Applied Quality Assurance Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Quality Assurance of Undergraduate Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 An Analysis of the QA System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Improvements to Quality Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Academic Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Student-Teacher ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Terms of Employment in the Public Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Enrollment: Unprecedented Expansion in the mid 1990s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Expansion in an International Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Private Sector Dominance in Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Recent Decline in Admission to Tertiary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Disparities in Regional Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Significant Enrollment in Evening Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 High Graduation Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Disciplines: Under-Investment in Technical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Programs: Biased Towards Undergraduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 A Struggling Science and Technology Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Strengths: Centers of Excellence, ICT and the Private Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Weaknesses: Human Capital, IP Protection and Unequal Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 A Nascent Internationalization of Colombian Tertiary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Can Student Loans Improve Accessibility to Higher Education and Student Performance? An Impact Study of the Case of SOFES, Mexico

This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Can student loans improve accessibility to higher education and student performance? An impact study of the case of SOFES, Mexico, conducted during the time period 1998 and still exists today in Mexico. The study observed that financial aid to students in tertiary education can contribute to human capital accumulation through two channels: increased enrollment and improved student performance With regard to the first channel, the enrollment, results from the Mexican household survey indicate that financial support has a strong positive effect on university enrollment. Given completion of upper secondary education, the probability of entering higher education rises 24 percent. However, the results cannot be interpreted as a purely causal impact of the student loan program, since the impacts also could reflect selection of students. Students who receive some kind of financial support have a 24 percent higher chance of enrollment into a university program. Recipients of the program have small but significant improvements to test scores. The loan does not seem to have any impact on school choice. Approximately half of program recipients are female.

Human Capital and University-Industry Linkages’ Role in Fostering Firm Innovation: An Empirical Study of Chile and Colombia

A firms absorptive capacity, human capital and linkages with knowledge institutions have been shown to increase the firms probability of innovating in OECD economies. Despite its importance for national- and firm-level competitiveness, few papers examine the impact of the same variables for firms innovation in Latin America. This paper investigates the link between firm innovation and its absorption capacity as proxied by the presence of a R&D department, the firms human capital, and its interaction with research centers and universities. We analyze the case of Chilean and Colombian manufacturing firms using data from innovation surveys. A probit regression model is applied to identify the determinants of innovation activity. We find that collaboration with university and research institutions is associated with an increase in the probability of introducing a new product in Chilean and Colombian firms of 29 and 44 percent, respectively, and it can increase up to 58 percent in the case of Colombian firms interacting with research centers. Moreover, firms whose employees have a higher level of education, or whose managers/supervisors have a higher (perceived) level of knowledge, are more likely to innovate. Although the estimates could be affected by biases and suffer from shortcomings in data, the findings suggest that policies and incentives to increase firm-level human capital and industry-university linkages are important to increase innovation in Latin America.

Progress in Participation in Tertiary Education in India from 1983 to 2004

Using nationally representative household surveys, this paper examines the trends in attainment, enrollment, and access to tertiary (higher) education in India from 1983 to 2005. The findings suggest that there has been considerable progress in attainment and participation; however, they remain low. Important gaps exist in enrollment between rich and poor, rural and urban areas, men and women, disadvantaged groups and the general population, and states. Analysis of transition rates from secondary education to tertiary education and regression analysis indicate that inequality in tertiary education between disadvantaged groups and the general population is explained by low completion rates of secondary education. Inequality in tertiary education related to income, gender, rural residence, and between states is explained by: (i) differences in completion rates of secondary education, and (ii) differences in the probability of transitioning from secondary education to tertiary education. In particular, the importance of household income has grown markedly. Equitable expansion of secondary education is therefore critical for improving the equity of tertiary education. There is also a need to help qualified youth from low-income families and rural backgrounds to attend tertiary education, in particular the technical and engineering streams, in which participation is lower.

Sub-Saharan African science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research : decade of development

In March 2014, several African governments’ ministers agreed on a Joint Call for Action in Kigali to adopt a strategy that uses strategic investments in science and technology to accelerate Africa toward a developed knowledge-based society within one generation. The represented governments are part of the Partnership for Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology (PASET), an initiative of the World Bank that supports efforts by African governments and their partners to strengthen the role of applied science, engineering, and technology in the development agenda. The ministers unanimously acknowledged the need for specific measures to improve relevance, quality, and excellence in learning, and research in higher education. Which specific measures should be taken? Answering this question requires new analyses based on credible data and public debate on the findings. This report is part of a broader, ongoing effort to provide more evidence and analysis on the supply of and demand for skills, education, and research within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for Africa’s socioeconomic transformation and poverty reduction under the aegis of the PASET. The report focuses on research output and citation impact, important indicators of the strength of a region’s research enterprise. These indicators are correlated with the region’s long-term development and important drivers of economic success. Moreover, research is a key ingredient for quality higher education. Given the shortcomings of reliable statistics on education and research in Africa, we hope the information contained in a bibliometric database will shed light on regional collaboration within Africa, academia– business collaboration, and STEM capacity.

Pending Issues in Protection, Productivity Growth, and Poverty Reduction

This paper selectively synthesizes much of the research on Latin American and Caribbean labor markets in recent years. Several themes emerge that are particularly relevant to ongoing policy dialogues. First, labor legislation matters, but markets may be less segmented than previously thought. The impetus to voluntary informality, which appears to be a substantial fraction of the sector, implies that the design of social safety nets and labor legislation needs to take a more integrated view of the labor market, taking into account the cost-benefit analysis workers and firms make about whether to interact with formal institutions. Second, the impact of labor market institutions on productivity growth has probably been underemphasized. Draconian firing restrictions increase litigation and uncertainty surrounding worker separations, reduce turnover and job creation, and poorly protect workers. But theory and anecdotal evidence also suggest that they, and other related state or union induced rigidities, may have an even greater disincentive effect on technological adoption, which accounts for half of economic growth. Finally, institutions can affect poverty and equity, although the effects seem generally small and channels are not always clear. Overall, the present constellation of labor regulations serves workers and firms poorly and both could benefit from substantial reform.